The following is from a recent news release from El Rio Community Health Center:

Community Health Vote is a new, national non-partisan voter engagement effort with over 200 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers in 30 states engaged. “Arizona has the highest percentage of  health centers participating in Community Health Vote and El Rio Community Health Center has established one of the most successful new voter registration programs in the country” according to Marc Wetherhorn, Senior Director, Advocacy and Civic Engagement for National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC).  “The commitment of El Rio’s leadership and staff is unequaled and simply highlights once again its commitment to the people they serve,” states Wetherhorn.

The major goals of the Community Health Vote campaign are to increase voting and civic participation by health center staff, board, volunteers and patients, and to assist America’s Health Centers in increasing voter participation in their communities through legal, permissible, nonpartisan voter engagement activities — voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote.

Community health centers represent an important safety net for Americans that need access to high quality health care, but have limited ability to pay for services. In Arizona community health centers serve several hundred thousand individuals from all walks of life. “There is a perception that the majority of people who go to community health centers for help are individuals that are low-income with no health care coverage, but our doors are open to both uninsured and insured people. El Rio is an integral part of our community’s health network,” states Brenda Goldsmith, Executive Director of El Rio Health Center Foundation.

El Rio has teamed up with Mi Familia Vota in Arizona to help people understand that their voice matters. Mi Familia Vota is currently registering community members to vote and to vote-by-mail at here in Tucson at El Rio Community Health Center and three locations in the Phoenix area. People can also complete a NACHC pledge form confirming the commitment to participate in this year’s election.

For more information on how to register to vote, or to learn where your polling location is, visit www.CHCVote.org. For information on how to access El Rio primary medical or dental services or find a facility location visit www.elrio.org or call 520-670-3909.